Pine Panther Pulse

Hello Pine Families!

Last Friday's eLearning Day was a good reminder to always be prepared for changes to our instructional day. Since it was asynchronous, students will have until Wednesday to complete those assignments in order to be marked "present" in the attendance system. Check with your child's teacher to see if they have done their work.

Testing season is here. The second ILEARN Checkpoint window is currently open and WIDA testing has begun. We only have a few more weeks of instruction until all 2nd graders and many 3rd graders take the IREAD-3 assessment too. Talk to your child's teacher about what exams your child may be taking, and see what you can do to help prepare them for success!

Let's keep reading at home each day, coming to school on time, and showing those Habits of Character. It's the Wolfie Way!

We're looking forward to another great week of learning at Pine!

David A Alvarado

Principal

The community is invited to an informational meeting on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., in the cafeteria at Lake Hills Elementary School (201 Ferguson Rd). During the meeting, district leaders and a representative from Fanning Howey and Skillman Corporation share updates on the proposed Michigan City Event Center, discuss preliminary middle school concepts, and review current elementary enrollment numbers and early planning considerations. This meeting is intended to share early concepts and help families and community members better understand the district’s long-term planning process.

Learn more at educatemc.net/community/community-conversations.

Make sure you've subscribed to the new text alert system sent out by MCAS to recieve important notifications, including information about potential decisions for delays or eLearning.

How to Opt-In:

1. Using your mobile phone, open your text messaging app
2. In the recipient (To) field, enter 67587
3. In the message box, type YES
4. Press Send
5. You will receive a confirmation message once you are successfully subscribed

With winter weather here, there is always a chance that MCAS will call an unplanned eLearning Day. If/When this happens, Pine students will follow the schedule below for live, online instruction with their teachers to keep the learning going from home. See the webpages linked here and here for more information.

Elementary School Students:

Live instruction

9:00am - 11:55am

(Break for lunch 11:55am-12:25pm)

Independent work, individual/small group instruction, and email support: 12:25-3:00pm

Doors open at Pine each morning at 8:25, beginning Oct. 20. Students have until 8:45 to arrive, have breakfast, and wait with their classmates in the gym. Teachers pick up students by 8:35 to head to classrooms. Students arriving after 8:45 are marked tardy. Be sure your children arrive on time!

Late arriving students should be walked into the office by a family member and signed in. Please refrain from dropping tardy students off at the curb without checking them in. Student absences should be called into the office. Students learn most when they are at school each day! Let's work together to have the best attendance possible!

Arrival Procedures

Doors open at Pine at 8:25 AM. Parents dropping off students at school should only use the north parking lot by the Red Pod. PreK families, students requiring special assistance, and families who need to visit the office may park in the south lot by the main entrance. No parents should park along the curb at the main entrance as this area is designated only for school buses. Breakfast is served from 8:25 - 8:45. Students arriving after 8:45 will be marked tardy. Attendance matters!

Dismissal Procedures

The final bell rings at 3:00. Bus riders will be escorted by their teachers to their proper buses. Boys and Girls Club members will report to the cafeteria. Car riders will report to the red pod where staff will organize them per our dismissal procedures. Parents picking up students should join the line around the north parking lot. Please comply with all instructions and expectations while remembering that student safety trumps adult preferences at all times. Parents must communicate any changes in dismissal plans to the office before 2:00 to ensure they are shared with teachers.

All students will have a supervised 15 minute recess each day before lunchtime.

All Pine students are invited to take a school breakfast and school lunch each day at no cost to families. Parents who prefer to send a home lunch with their child are of course welcome to do so.

See the link below for information on our Strategic Plan, the document that sets the purpose and describes our goals for serving our community.

https://www.mcas.k12.in.us/strategicplanning

Talk to your child's teacher about how communication will take place between home and the classroom this year! Whether it be via Class Dojo, email, or some other communication method, when teachers and parents stay in touch and work together, our students benefit the most!

Missed an issue of the Pine Panther Pulse? They're all archived on our website at the link below!

https://pine.educatemc.net/welcome-to-pine/news